England Looking For Strong Performance Ahead Of Finals

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England skipper Sean O'Loughlin wants his team to put in a better performance against France on Sunday ahead of the World Cup quarter-finals.

England ground their way to a patchy 29-10 win against Lebanon last week, with coach Wayne Bennett saying they "lost their way in the second half", and the Wigan Warriors captain wants more consistency at Perth Stadium.

"I think the Australia game it was disappointing not to get the result, but the performance was reasonably good and it was probably a little bit vice-versa in the second game," he said.

"This week it's about getting the win, but also improving our performance."

Bennett has made some positional changes for the clash with France, as Kevin Brown starts at five-eighth with Luke Gale in the halves, while Gareth Widdop drops to fullback.

"The boys who haven't played are excited to get their chance," O'Loughlin said.

"I don't think the changes will affect our combinations too much.

"Obviously we've got Gaz at one, but he'll still be in the halves. Kev is coming in, but he and Luke played together against Samoa mid-season, and George will get his chance as well.

"They've been mixing it up in training, so they're all pretty familiar with each other.

"Wayne has probably got in his mind who he thinks is his first choice, but a few might give him some headaches this week."

O'Loughlin says winger Jermaine McGillvary's citing for a biting allegation hadn't disrupted the team and it's now business as usual.